Innocence Lost
by Captain Erika
Summary: Hernandez confides to Archer her darkest secret, which will shatter the very core of Archer’s beliefs and the very existence of the Coalition itself. Archer/Hernandez.
1. Limbo

Innocence Lost

A/N: First new fanfic since 9th grade (I'm a university student now). **I don't own any of the canon characters (or Star Trek, for that matter), but I do own the new characters and the story idea. **

I've pitched this idea to the Enterprise Twitterfic group but I'm not sure if we're going to go with the story (seeing that it's a major revelation that affects the universe as a whole). I've been working on it for weeks and I don't want to just throw it away.** Reviews are welcome, but no flames. I don't like flames.**

I'd like to thank Memory Alpha for their database and information. It's a lifesaver, especially when you're trying to make a backstory to a character that only appears three times in the whole series!

**Here's Erika's chronology in this story:**

May 2114 – Born in Houston, Texas

January 2134 – Graduates from University of Texas, enters Starfleet as engineer

January 2135 – Switches from Engineering to Intelligence

April 2143 – Commander rank, dates Archer

October 2146 – Breaks up with Archer because of Archer's promotion

February 2148 – Stint on the Republic, XO, Tactical Officer

September 2153 – Promotion to Captain, command of _Columbia_

**Here's a short chronology of the (canonical) events that I'll mention:**

April 2152 – "Minefield" – First contact with the Romulans

Nov 2153 – Gareb (the drone's pilot) is captured

Feb 2154 – "Home"

November 12-15, 2154 – The episodes "Babel One", "United", "The Aenar" happen on this date.

November 27, 2154 – Columbia launches

_Summary: Hernandez confides to Archer her darkest secret, which will shatter the very core of Archer's beliefs and the very existence of the Coalition itself. Archer/Hernandez._

**Warnings: Rated T for violence, cursing. Does NOT follow the canon of Star Trek: Destiny.**

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**First Circle: Limbo**

**June 2156**

The fire was dying, so I threw some more wood into it. Jonathan was next to me, sitting on a log, telling me how Texas had lost to Stanford – _again_. I wasn't listening to any of it. I hated water polo – but I wasn't going to tell the biggest fan of water polo that.

I felt a hand slide across my waist, and suddenly I was _a lot_ closer to Jonathan. "We're Jonathan and Erika, not Captain Archer and Captain Hernandez," he murmured, kissing my cheek.

I looked at him, with an amused smile crossing my face. "Are you trying to say something, Jon?"

He shrugged, and kissed me again. I replied with a kiss of my own. "How's Enterprise doing in the dock?" We were back on Earth, waiting for our ships to be done with the repairs and retrofits.

He narrowed his eyes. "_Erika_…" He brushed a few strands of my hair away from my face. "I accepted your invite to a nice horseback ride and hike near your ranch…on the condition that we would not talk about Starfleet matters." He tapped my nose. "Now. What were you saying?"

I smirked. "I just wanted to know if everything's all right with you. Especially after the Vulcan distress call incident." I paused, letting the words sink in. A wave of déjà vu passed over me. Two years ago. I had asked if he was okay after he woke up sweating and panting like he had run a marathon.

"Everything's all right with me, Erika. Thanks." He smiled, poking the fire with a large stick. The wood crackled as he shifted the burning wood around. "What about you? If I remember correctly, you were the one to suspect the Romulans and the drone ship, even though it ended up being something else."

I looked at Jon. The words that I wanted to say were stuck tightly in my throat. This time...this time, I couldn't say that I was alright anymore.

**December 2134**

The 602 Club was in shambles. The tables were all either tipped over, or broken, jagged edges jutting out into the air. Glass covered some of the floor, covered in various alcohols, and the pretzel bowls were tipped over, their contents splayed everywhere.

Everybody had been lined up, and the ranking officer in the bar – Captain Logan Black – had just finished his lecture on conduct becoming an officer on and off duty. Then he ordered everybody to leave except for the two combatants and myself.

The two Ensigns were both from the Operations division, and had fought over a petty argument about whether or not Engineering was more beneficial than Tactical. Everybody had moved out of their way as they fought. I was sitting at the bar, chatting with another engineer about the new warp 2 drive when the two combatants slammed in the space between us. I stared at the two struggling men, and as I moved away, I felt the urge to go and split them up.

Black was now almost beet red from anger. "You two have sullied the name of Starfleet with this petty brawl! Wearing the uniform commands great respect and you both have just lost it! I'm putting a reprimand in both of your files for this incident, and you will clean up this mess and apologize to the owner of the 602. Dismissed." The two guys left to clean up the mess, and Captain Black turned to me, his blue eyes peering into my own brown ones.

"What's your name?"

"Lieutenant Erika Hernandez, sir."

He raised an eyebrow. "You're the engineering prodigy." He opened his mouth, but I coughed, interrupting him. He blinked, then nodded.

"Sir, respectfully, I'm no prodigy. I just work hard."

He smiled. "Your commander says otherwise. At ease." I put my hands behind my back, and he coughed, the smile disappearing from his face. "Have you ever considered a department change? From what I saw, you could be a very good tactical officer."

"Sir, I'd rather stay where I am."

He raised an eyebrow. "Do you know why I'm here, Lieutenant Hernandez?" He pulled out a PADD from his uniform and presented it to me. I took it after a moment, and looked at the screen. I was staring at my file in the database. Lieutenant Erika Hernandez. Born May 9th, 2114. I looked up at the Captain, and he smiled. "I was going to recruit you for Starfleet Intelligence. I looked over your background. You're very suited for this branch of Starfleet." I opened my mouth to protest, but he held a hand up. "Please, Lieutenant, consider the offer before you turn me down."

I nodded. "Yes sir."

The Captain clamped a hand on my shoulder. "You are going to be a good officer someday, Lieutenant Hernandez." He let go of the hand, and stood at attention. "Dismissed, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir." I nodded, and left the 602 Club, taking my jacket on the way out. Night had fallen, and it was getting colder by the minute, so I picked up my pace and hurried back to the small apartment three blocks away.

There was nothing in my file that suggested that I was suitable for Starfleet Intelligence. I was an aeronautic engineer, not an intelligence agent. I had a black belt in various disciplines of martial arts, and I had a habit of slipping away from school when I was younger, but those days were over. I rather create space ships than play Agent 007 to Starfleet.

**June 2156**

I felt a hand on my shoulder, warm and reassuring. "Erika? You okay?" Archer looked at me, worry etched into his face. "You're shaking."

I looked at him, coughed, and willed myself to stop shaking. "I'm alright. Just…" I sighed, looking into the inferno that sat before me. "Just reminiscing."


	2. From the Light, Into the Abyss

**Second Circle: From the Light, Into the Abyss**

**January 2135**

I opened my eyes. My head throbbed from something, and my head was covered in something black. I was sitting on something hard (it felt like leather, but I wasn't too sure at this point), my hands were tied up, and I was being jostled around. I surmised that I was in a vehicle of some sort, moving to some unknown destination.

It crossed my mind that in the close to three minutes that I had come to, I had never once thought of screaming. Then it dawned on me that screaming would be the worst thing to do. I could be knocked out again…or worse, killed.

A week ago, I had transferred to Intelligence. A few days ago, I was tasked with researching ways to improve Intelligence's evidence collecting. And when I came to work today, with new ideas, I was knocked out with a blow to the back of my head.

Joining Intelligence was a bad idea. If I had stayed in Engineering, I wouldn't be in this car going to who knows where.

The car stopped, and I suddenly lurched forward a bit, stopped by something that I knew to be a person's arm. So there was someone in the car with me…besides the driver, that is. Although it could've been an automated vehicle. A part of me was telling me that this was all a dream of some sort- that I would wake up on the floor of the department looking like a fool. I told it to shut up.

I suddenly was pulled to one side, and something cold pressed against my neck. The last thing I felt was the black bag being pulled from my head, and heat from the bright sun shining on my face.

**June 2156**

I woke up to find Archer leaning over me, close to kissing my lips. My eyes widened at how close his face was, and he moved away a bit, giving me some needed space. "You were shaking, Erika. Are you okay?"

I wiped the sweat beading on my forehead, and ran a hand through my hair. It was damp with sweat, sticking to my scalp. My mouth was dry, and I felt sick to my stomach. "I just had a nightmare, Jonathan."

He gave me a wary look. "That was no ordinary nightmare." He put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm here for you, Erika. Do you want to talk about it?"

I blinked, and smirked. "I have this case of déjà vu." Jonathan smiled at that quip. I sat up, and got out of the sleeping bag. The fire was gone, and all that was left were ashes, like snow in winter. I reached for my water bottle, and took a big gulp of it, feeling some of the drops fall onto my shirt. I wiped my lips and screwed the top back on, and sighed. I looked at him. "It's funny…we're in this off and on relationship…and I've been keeping secrets from the one I love most."

"Erika, we all keep secrets. Remember the first time we met? You were obviously drunk…and you had spilled your drink all over me, then proceeded to pass out in my lap."

I chuckled at that simple memory. I had searched his name and address in the Starfleet database, and went to apologize at his own apartment the next day. Instead of getting angry at me, he invited me to dinner at a seafood restaurant that same night. "How could I not remember?"

"Well…" He looked sheepish. "I hated your guts. You had ruined my night with the guys and I didn't want to ever see your face again for the rest of my life! But when you came to my door, and apologized to me…all those feelings melted away. You know the rest of the story."

I sighed. "Do you want to know why I never want to talk about my past?" It was something that Jonathan had avoided after I had gotten angry at him for asking about my father.

My father was almost a taboo subject at the Hernandez household. My mother never was willing to speak in detail about my father. Whenever I asked, it was always brushed off with "Here, Erika, have a piece of _tres leches_" or "Erika, not now, I'm busy" or "Erika, papa's doing something important. He has his reasons." My brother never asked either, even though he was five years older than I and probably remembered my father. The one time I asked him, he had smacked me in the forehead with a coarse brush and told me to pay attention to the ponies.

Archer smirked at the question. "So _now_ you're going to tell me."

It's only because if I do, maybe the nightmares will go away. Maybe I can come to grips with my past. Maybe I can be forgiven for what I've done. "It might take a while," I replied softly.

Jonathan grinned. "We have all the time in the world."

**January 2135**

I opened my eyes and groaned. The pain in my body was dull and aching and probably from sitting with my hands tied in front of me on a hard, wooden chair. My legs were tied to the chair, to prevent escape. A single light hung from the ceiling (which I couldn't see at all), and I could see figures shift in the darkness. Or what I thought to be figures.

A booming voice echoed in the room. "Erika Hernandez. Born 2114, graduated magna cum laude at the University of Texas in 2134, entered Starfleet immediately afterwards. Entered as an ensign, promoted six months later to Lieutenant." I heard the snap of a book or portfolio, which echoed in the endless abyss. "Do you know who we are?"

I smirked. "A group of idiots that decided to knock me out in front of security cameras and drag me to a room with a single light." I winced, expecting someone to come out and punch me in the face, but instead I heard footsteps, and my eyes widened at the man who had stepped forward. "Sir! Do you know these people? I demand that they release me!"

Captain Black just smiled, but it was not one of reassurance. It was one of malice and hidden secrets. How…how could…I realized that I had walked into a trap that fateful night in the 602. "Not until we explain everything, Lieutenant Hernandez."

I frowned. _The story of my life_, I thought bitterly. People hiding things from me…either to protect me from the bitter truth, or just to torture my head even more. "You better hurry before I lose my temper, _Captain_. If that's who you really are."

He smirked. "I am a captain in the Earth Starfleet, but also an agent for Section 31."


End file.
